TEMPE, Ariz. – All three of Arizona State’s starting forwards – Cali Farquharson, Larisa Staub and Aly Moon – found the back of the net on Friday night as the Sun Devil soccer team opened the 2015 season with a 3-0 win over Portland State. With the victory a milestone was reached as Sun Devil head coach Kevin Boyd earned the 200th win of his career.
The Sun Devils dominated on both ends of the field as they amassed 22 shots on the offensive end while allowing only two shots on the opposite end of the field.
“I thought we (played) really well. The word I gave to the team at the end was, I thought we were really ‘clinical’ in the way that we played,” Boyd said following the game. “What I mean is we dominated possession, yet we were trying to probe and find ways in. We created a lot of very good chances and as we go forward we will finish more of them.”
Ten players combined for 13 shots on goal as the Sun Devils were attacking the Vikings from all directions.
Farquharson got things going early after scoring just over five minutes into the game to give ASU a 1-0 lead. Teammate McKenzie Berryhill dialed up a long-distance pass and found Farquharson, who gathered in the pass, dribbled along the 18 and drilled a shot in-between two defenders to score ASU’s first goal of the new season.
Excellent teamwork would create ASU’s second goal of the game after Lucy Lara hit Tommi Goodman with a pass across midfield. Goodman then found Staub with a pass in stride and Staub finished off the breakaway with her first career goal to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
“(Larisa’s) finish was great, I mean it was a really good finish,” Boyd said. “It was something that we just worked on last week. She is really coming along but what I like about her is she is so coachable. She listens to what we have to say and she tries to put in play.”
ASU extended its lead to 3-0 in the 51st minute after Madison Stark crossed a ball to Aly Moon into the box. Moon’s defender attempted to intercept the cross with a header, leaving Moon just enough time to gain control of the ball and send her shot into the net.
Boyd felt one of the biggest keys to the win was how the Sun Devils shared the ball and created chances for one another. Much of that started with ASU’s defenders.
“I was really happy with our back line, the way we were handling the ball and moving it around and the way we spread them out,” Boyd said. “We did not do that well last year and it’s a significant difference from last year.”
The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) when they host Beijing Normal University in an exhibition contest that will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks. Admission to Sunday’s game is free to all fans.